Here’s the first chapter of the story I wrote for NaNoWriMo. It’s not perfect, but it is much better than it was at the end of November. Tell me what you think [but don’t be mean!]

Chapter One: Discovery and Departure

The pack of beacons cascaded through the velvety night with trails like emerald fire. It happened more times than Varena could remember, so she wasn’t scared. That was her first mistake.

But suddenly a single dodecahedron broke off from the group. She stared in awe as it lanced through the sparkling clouds. A phosphorescent green aura burned around it, irradiating the night sky. Varena observed its decent with curiosity. It simply couldn’t be a beacon – sure, it looked like one, but they always hovered in the sky, then shot out of visible range. Just as always, the group of beacons disappeared into the night sky. But the lone one careened towards the ground.

A high-pitched SKREEEEEEEEEE shattered through the night. She retreated into her doghouse, but kept her eyes trained on the ball of light. The noise crescendoed to a skull-splitting roar. It crashed into the woods just beyond the yard. A blast of green exploded through the trees. Dust cascaded and plumed, burning Varena’s throat. The ground beneath her paws trembled in fear.

Then, silence.

“Hey!” she howled to the neighbors. “Did anyone else see that? What was that?!”

A chorus of howls and yips filled the air.

“I didn’t see nothin’.”

“It was probably just the humans’ tree-cutting machines.”

Stunned, Varena howled, “Come on, one of you had to have seen it. Something fell from the sky into the woods!”

“Was it a beacon?” one of the dogs joked. Howls of laughter echoed through the neighborhood at that: just like the stationary nightlights, beacons never leave their rarefied heights…except the one Varena witnessed.

She was astonished; how could her neighbors be blind to something that happened right above their heads?

But beacons were harmless. Fallen ones – well, they were just a curiosity. With a yawn, she retreated to her doghouse.